Month: March 2018

Yesterday saw one of the most powerful and striking charity campaign stunts that we’ve ever witnessed. ‘Project 84’ is a campaign launched by charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), and draws attention to male suicide, with 84 males dying by suicide every week in the UK.

The stunt saw 84 sculptures of men stood on the edge of the ITV building on the South Bank, fully dressed, looking entirely lifelike. Each sculpture represents a man who, statistically, will take his own life this week.

The power of the images is immense and has picked up coverage across the world.

Suicide is an issue that impacts families in an utterly devastating way. Like so many health conditions, especially those related to mental health, it is misunderstood and often shied away from. It’s time that changed and we all started talking openly about our mental and physical health.

Project 84 has such a profound message and this stunt delivers it in a truly blunt way – this kind of message needs to be blunt and the execution is incredible.

Our work has taken us from Wimbledon to Wembley, from Vauxhall to Vietnam, from Camden to Cannes and from Yorkshire to New York – every year we’ve expanded our horizons, tried new things and made plenty of new friends along the way. Year three has been no different!

In the last year we’ve started a new charity chat, The Breakfast Club: London, welcoming charities from across the capital and the country to come and discuss the latest issues facing the sector, we’ve launched a new department, we’ve worked with lots of new clients and continued our close working relationship with existing clients too.

What keeps us going and keeps us growing is the knowledge that no matter what challenges we face, our work is benefiting some amazing charities and organisations that work directly with people in genuine need. Whether it’s a health charity raising awareness about a condition or an organisation that promotes community ventures or internationally recognised fundraising and volunteering movements, we know that at the end of the day our work has helped make a difference to those organisations and they, in turn, have made positive impacts on people’s lives.

This is a belief that we’ll continue to work with and why we feel so privileged to work with the clients we do.

For those familiar with our work you’ll know that we work closely with a wide range of celebrities and famous faces; from Hollywood stars and sports people, to on-trend stars and social media influencers.

One such famous face that we’ve worked with numerous times is Brooklyn Beckham, who recently collaborated with luxury water brand LIFEWTR. The collaboration saw Brooklyn pose with the product and three men in Brazilian jui-jitsu outfits. The image was posted on Brooklyn’s Instagram page where he commands an audience of almost 11 million. LIFEWTR is a socially conscious water brand that looks to inspire people through art, launching various campaigns and initiatives to inspire schools and young people and helping to equip classrooms with kits.

Though the post was sponsored, it’s a really good example of how powerful influencers can be, especially when they talk to an engaged audience who trust them as an ambassador. We’ve seen countless examples of celebrity influencers giving a real boost to campaigns we’ve worked on, directly engaging with their audience and raising awareness of the cause we’re talking about.

We don’t pay celebrities or social influencers to post about our campaigns, we rely on the strength of our relationships and the time we take in constructing the right ask but the results are always worth the time and effort! Our advice would be to consider building in a celebrity engagement piece as part of any campaign – it’s not always possible but its certainly worth considering.

In the second part of our look at the relationship between football and charity, we’ve focused on Football for Peace (FfP), an organisation that aims to bring peace and inspire a culture of better understanding between communities through the vehicle of football.

FfP works on several levels or promote social harmony in the UK and around the world. One of the most eye-catching initiatives is ‘Cities for Peace’. Using football as the common factor, young people from a wide range of communities, faiths and backgrounds are invited to take part in a course that both empowers and also teaches them core life skills. The backdrop for this is an opportunity to mix with young people from different backgrounds, helping to break down social barriers between communities. At the end of the course, the young ‘graduate’ and become Football for Peace Ambassadors.

The skills learnt (in leadership, organisational, communication and planning skills) are used to design and host football tournaments for other local young people.

Outside of this work, FfP also organises Peace Matches, often featuring famous faces and former footballers, who will take on an invited team(s) – this is a great way of spreading the brand messages of FfP and gaining credibility in new areas.

What we really like about the work FfP undertakes is that it has a real grassroots feel to it, working in the communities that need help and making a real difference to young people’s lives, yet, they still plan big look to engage supporters on a brand level also.

If you’d like to check out a really inspiring story for Birmingham – City for Peace, click on the picture below.

Today we remember one of the world’s most eminent scientists and most recognisable faces, Professor Stephen Hawking, who died this morning at the age of 76.
Professor Hawking’s achievements are many and will be covered extensively over the coming days, but his support of charity is something that may slip under the radar.

Hawking lent his status as a world-famous figure to countless campaigns and charity initiatives; from setting up a foundation in his name (The Stephen Hawking Foundation), aimed at facilitating research into Cosmology, Astrophysics and Fundamental Particle Physics, as well as facilitating and supporting work relating to Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and those living with the disease – a condition that Professor Hawking had lived with for more than 50 years.

Further charity work included everything from lending his name and voice to MND fundraising events, including a recent swim across the River Thames in London, to appearing as a guest speaker at charity conferences and of course his work on TV, including his memorable sketch on Comic Relief where celebrities auditioned to be his ‘new voice’.

Not only was Professor Hawking an inspiration in his professional life, but a great example of how someone with high public profile can make a real difference to charity campaigns and messages.

We seem to be in the midst of an existential crisis when it comes to our giving, bound up in a lot of ‘why’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ questions around our support.

The sector has been rocked by a wide range of issues, aired largely in the full gaze of the mainstream media which in turn has rocked public confidence.

Charities across the board are searching for ways to hold on to supporters, generate consistent income and show how donor money is being spent.

With a media focus on accountability dictating the public narrative at this time, it’s easy to forget that individuals making gestures is still at the core of charity giving and what keeps charities alive. It’s as simple as helping someone in need or who is less fortunate than you.

Around 11 million people play football in the UK every week, making up 119,000 teams in more than 12,000 leagues, reaching every corner and culture of the country. We get used to seeing football as a game of allegiances, whether that’s the traditional Sunday morning pub team or the local (and sometimes not-so-local) professional team, but what can be forgotten is the impact football has away from being a simple spectacle.

Whether it’s a professional club’s Foundation, their community engagement programmes or an independent organisation using football as a vehicle to make a difference; football as a sport and a movement is in a unique position to change lives for the better in the UK.

Over the next week we’ll be looking at three organisations that are using football as a vehicle for change, starting with Footie With Dad, an organisation that encourages the strengthening of the carer-child relationship through a shared enjoyment of football.

Footie With Dad was founded by a dad whose son faced serious medical complications from birth. His dream was to take his son to watch a football match and share the unique bond that this occasion can create. The role of FWD is simple, encourage more parents/grandparents/guardians to explore and create this bond with a child in their life. As a relatively new charity, founded in 2017, FWD currently encourages people to share their stories and experiences, mainly through social media, as a way of inspiring others. The charity is being interviewed on Radio Five Live later today and we’ll be tuning in to hear more about what they’re planning for the future.

Next up, we’ll be looking at Football for Peace and how they use football to empower young people, break down conflicts and encourage social cohesion across the UK and the world.

Yesterday was the fifth edition of We Day UK take place at Wembley Arena. The event celebrated the amazing achievements of young people and schools from across the UK who have been involved in the WE movement – a global, volunteering-led, youth-empowerment movement that benefits local and global causes.

At EastofEden, we’re used to working at all kinds of hours on projects around the world, delivering amazing events for fantastic causes, however, there’s something really special about being part of an event so close to home, seeing the delight on the faces of 12,000 young people as they arrive, full of excitement at the day ahead.

Rewind 36 hours and we were hard at work with the WE team, talking over final plans, arrangements for talent arrivals, red carpet logistics (well, blue carpet, this is WE Day after all!), and media accreditation, followed by pre-event site walks, blue carpet run-throughs and a media logistics tour of the venue.

As event day arrived we were up at 3:30am in the rain, ready to oversee the installation of the blue carpet, marquees, move some barriers around and get the site in shape for talent, media and the event attendees. All set, signed off and ready to go, it was time to register the media and get everyone in place for the talent to arrive.

Talent in, media happy and interviews with talent and young people involved in WE, well underway, the event went off without a hitch. The audience was treated to performances and speeches from the likes of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lily Collins, Alexandra Burke, Holly Branson and Katie Piper, with hot topics of conversation including; female empowerment, living fearlessly and supporting your peers.

“It’s such a special event; there’s so much positivity in the room and the atmosphere is infectious. It’s great to see so many smiling faces celebrating some remarkable achievements and spreading such a positive and inclusive message. We always love being part of WE Day and its always a highlight in our calendar.”

A long, yet truly rewarding and inspiring day came to an end and we can’t wait for WE Day 2019!

If you’d like to find out more about WE Day please click here and if you’d like to hear more about how EastofEden was involved, please get in touch!

We had the pleasure of hosting Maria Bravo, Founder of the Global Gift Foundation and Global Gift Gala, for a day last week, as she and her team met with charities from across the UK, including a visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital, who benefited from the Global Gift Gala London, held in November 2017.

The day began with an invitation only breakfast held in the luxurious and welcoming surroundings of the Devonshire Club in Central London. Maria spoke passionately about her love for philanthropy, her story and her continuing drive to make the world a better place. Charity representatives from across the sector were in attendance and enjoyed a delicious breakfast and conversation. There were representatives from mothers2mothers, MacMillan Cancer and many more.

Maria’s busy day continued as she and Nick Ede, EastofEden CEO and Global Gift Gala Ambassador travelled on to Great Ormond Street Hospital to visit patients who had benefited from the funds raised by from Global Gift Gala. It was a really moving experience for all involved and a great reminder of what all of the hard work goes towards – benefiting incredible causes and making a real difference to people’s lives.

A busy day that began in the early hours continued as Maria and her team moved on to Quaglinos, hosting a celebratory dinner for Global Gift Gala supporters, talent, charities and media. Guests including Jessica and Robert Pires, Karen Ruimey, Konnie Huq, Clare Merry, Ashley James and Charlotte de Carle enjoyed delicious Absolut Elyx Global Gift Cocktails, a three course meal and speeches from a range of inspiring speakers, including Maria, Nick and Diana Award CEO – Tessy Ojo.

As a packed day came to an end, we can all look forward to another year of Global Gift Galas across the world, bringing glamour and talent together to benefit causes that really matter.

If you’d like to find out more about the Global Gift Gala and how you can get involved please visit http://www.globalgiftgala.com or get in touch!